This invention concerns hair grooming devices, and in particular devices that facilitate the cutting and styling of hair at home, as well as in the salon. In a further aspect the invention is a method of using the devices.
Barbers and hairdressers have used simple scissors and combs for mans years to cut and style hair. For some short haircuts it has been possible to use electric shears, and there are many attachments available for the shears to control the length and profile of the cut. Nevertheless, apart from the simplest cuts it has been difficult for people to cut and style their own hair, because of the skill required to achieve a good result.
The invention is a hair grooming device having a handle with one or more fingers extending from it. The fingers may be curved to conform to the shape of the head, and a circular arc has been found to be suitable for this purpose. At least one of the fingers has a slot extending along its length. A comb carrying teeth extends adjacent the length of the, or each, slotted finger and is moveable relative to the adjacent slotted finger between a retracted position in which it is spaced apart from the slot, and an engaged position in which the teeth intersect the slot to grip hair along the length of the slotted finger. It should be appreciated that the slot may be open, that is an aperture that passes entirely through the finger, or closed, that is a groove in the surface of the finger, and that both types of slot may operate in the same way.
In use, the device is manipulated so that the finger, or fingers, are positioned in the hair with the comb, or combs, retracted so that hair enters the space between the comb and the finger. When the device is in the desired location, the comb is moved to grip hair along the length of the finger. The device is then manipulated to comb through the hair until it defines the line along which the hair is to be cut. Scissors or shears may then be used to cut the hair along a surface of the finger.
The combs may be spring biased into either the extended or retracted positions. Manipulation of the device may then cause the combs to be temporarily moved out of the biased position.
The finger or fingers may be run along the scalp and then the comb is engaged before the hair is lifted and cut, so that a complete layer of hair is cut at one time. The finger or fingers may also be run along the scalp and then the comb is engaged before the device is tilted about the point were the fingers meet the handle, to enable a complete layer to be cut along an angle.
In one example there is a single slotted finger. The comb and slotted finger are pivotally connected to each other at their bases where they meet the handle. The comb is operable to move towards and away from the finger. When the comb is moved towards the finger the teeth enter the slot. The comb may be slid into the hair and then manipulated to grip the hair with the desired pressure and to accommodate different volumes of hair captured between the comb and finger. In this device the comb may be biased into the extended position where it resides in the slot.
The slotted finger may have an open slot, and a further finger may lie below the slotted finger. The further finger may have a closed slot, or groove, in its upper surface. The teeth of the comb may pass through the open slot and into the slot or groove of the further finger when it is moved to the engaged position.
Once the hair is engaged in the teeth of the comb, the device is moved through the hair until it defines the end shape, such as the shape of the fringe, side of the face, or nape of the neck. The hair is then cut using scissors or shears.
In another example there are several slotted fingers arranged side by side. The fingers are closely spaced, but may be flexible so they can be combed through the hair. In this example there are slots in the fingers that are aligned with each other, and combs are arranged inside the slots. In this example the combs are operable to move out of the slots so that the teeth extend into a slot in an adjacent finger. In this example the combs may be biased into the extended position where they enter the adjacent slots.
This example of the device may be slid into the hair along the scalp before the combs are engaged. The device may then be lifted or tilted before layers are cut into the hair using scissors or shears.
The finger, or fingers, may be curved in the plane of its slot, and the teeth of the comb may be coplanar, with the ends of the teeth lying along a curve which matches the curve of the fingers. Alternatively, the back of the comb may be curved so that adjacent teeth are offset from one another, and the finger may be curved so that its slot is curved. The curve could also be more complicated and include curvature in both orthogonal directions mentioned above.
It is a particular advantage of the device that it enables longer hair styles to be cut with shears or hair clippers.